10 Differences Between South Korea and The USA

Are you an American moving to South Korea or South Korean moving to the United States? Do you know the differences between these two countries?

1. Sports. South Koreans are known for their martial arts. In fact, Taekwondo originated there. Korea has numerous martial arts sports such as Hapkido and Taekwondo. Other popular sports are baseball and football/soccer. In the US, however, the most popular sport is the American football. Other popular sports are baseball, basketball, and rugby.

2. After school academies. In South Korea, high school kids usually go to private academic schools (hagwons) after school where they can learn Math, English, Music, art, science, taekwondo, and so on. However, a high percentage of them choose to learn math and English to improve their grades. In the US, there are various art and sports clubs in high schools, which aren’t necessarily oriented to teaching school subjects. Students can decide on what they want to do after the school.

3. Entertainment for Children. On weekends, Korean children watch movies and soccer and play computer games and soccer. They have places they call “PC Rooms” for using the internet and kids meet there to play online games together. In the US, people have computers in their home where they can do whatever they want. There are also lots of cinemas and clubs where people go to enjoy. Korean children also have opportunities to spend time in parks, museums, beaches, playgrounds, etc.

4. Food. South Koreans mainly consume rice and vegetables (side dishes) for meals. The most consumed side dish among South Koreans is Kimchi. It’s a spicy but healthy fermented food that contains cabbage, garlic, onion, red pepper, green onion, and fish sauce. It’s believed that Kimchi is actually among the world’s five healthiest foods. On the other hand, Americans don’t eat vegetables often. Some of them dislike Kimchi simply because of its strong garlic flavor. While some Korean dishes are spicy, there are many that are not. More and more Korean go to western restaurants, including fast food chains, these days.

5. Car culture. Car culture is really big in America. Actually, it is virtually impossible to do anything or go anywhere in some parts of the US unless you have a private vehicle. South Korea, on the other hand, has some of the best public transportation in the world despite being one of the countries that design and manufacture some of the best selling vehicles in the world. Kia and Hyundai are Korean automobile companies.

6. Music. Recently, South Korean singers (K-Pop in particular) have started traveling through the world. In the past, they were popular in China, Japan, China, and Southeast Asian countries. Also in the last five years, South Korean singers have spread through the internet, and some have had some concerts in London, Paris, and New York. For many decades, American singers have traveled through the world and some of them such as Chris Brown are very popular in faraway countries.

7. The buildings. South Korea is not a big country, so its buildings are usually high to make use of the available space. So you’ll find that most of the South Korean schools have five-floor stories, and folks there live in 15-floor apartments. Also in South Korea, buildings are usually close to each other. So, you will find that academies, school, retail stores are in a one-mile area from where people live. In the USA, buildings in high in big cities, but in some of the states like Georgia, you’ll find that buildings are large and low.

8. Religion. In South Korea, 27.6% of folks are Christian, 19.7% are Protestants, 15.5% are Buddhist and 7.9% are Roman Catholics. 56.9% of people have no affiliation with any religion. In America, on the other hand, 70.6% of people are Christian, 1.9% are Judaists, 0.9% are Islam while only 22.8% have no religion.

9. Language. In South Korea, the official language is Korean. While the language is different from Mandarin, it incorporates some Chinese words. Koreans also have several number of loan words derived from English. Most of Koreans today are learning English in their education while others end up opting for Mandarin and Japanese. In the US, majority (80%) of the people speak English, 12.4 speak Spanish and 3.7% speak other Indo-European languages.

10. Health. The life expectancy in the US is 79.8 years while in South Korea is 82.3%. The main reason for reason for lower life expectancy in the US is obesity where 36.5% of the residents have this nutritional condition. South Korea’s health system is universal while in the US it’s not.

These are some of the differences between South Korea and the USA for those moving between the two countries. If you’re moving to South Korea from the US and searching for a reliable international mover, visit here.